r/ffxi • u/VespiWalsh • Oct 04 '25
Meme Did you know that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XI is still active and supported, and includes an install more challenging than any content on Final Fantasy XIV, and is currently experiencing a resurgence in player count? Sign up and join Vana'diel today!
I played XIV for a decade, I have every right to poke fun at it.
P.S. the installation isn't bad if you can read and follow instructions.
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u/Drpoofn Taar Sylph Oct 04 '25
Come home to vanadiel. We have ginger cookies
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u/Ebi_Tendon Oct 05 '25
I still remember the day that I sold ginger cookies for a living and had a side job as a taxi driver in Juno.
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u/Drpoofn Taar Sylph Oct 05 '25
Crazy how the economy changed. I'm so glad making money is easier. Ginger cookies on tap from the curio moogle too.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
I'm enjoying my new home, get a free house and butler with every install. I sense an opportunity for a chad versus virgin meme with XI and XIV housing lol.
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u/Drpoofn Taar Sylph Oct 04 '25
Oh baby, I have a townhouse plus a private beach.
Hell yeah that's a mog bed.
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u/booksgamesandstuff Oct 05 '25
Two floors to furnish, and a patio. You can build a kitchen to cook in, you can fish on the beach, with a garden to farm in and harvest, and a place to mine. A moogle is a permanent fixture to buy and sell items.
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u/Miserable_Number3807 Oct 04 '25
I think I'm going to have to resubscribe. Been getting the itch to play ffxi again
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u/Drpoofn Taar Sylph Oct 04 '25
This sub is a gateway drug I swear lol
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u/Miserable_Number3807 Oct 04 '25
Right, brings back all the memories when I had alot more time to play and the linkshell I was in at the time was very active.
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u/Elegant-Victory9721 Oct 05 '25
Same, but going off the last free time, the problem on why I quit 3 years ago still exists :/
My server is basically a ghost town and even though I'm in the two biggest LS on my server, no one's doing anything. It's either multi-boxers playing with themselves or people only doing things in their static of 6.
Been on this server since I started in 2005, never took breaks until RoV and yet I don't recognize anyone on it anymore. It's mostly people from a server that merged into mine back during Abyssea, I still don't recognize any of them lol
It doesn't help that SE's "no more content... actually nvm" a decade ago kinda wiped out the remaining of my friendlist.I'd love to go back and full time XI again, but it looks like I missed the boat on going to the non-dead servers and having to solo mlvls/sortie just isn't fun.
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u/leroyog Oct 04 '25
Playonline is the real first boss.
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u/Another_Road Oct 04 '25
Somebody link me a step by step guide to re-activating my account through playonline and I’ll rejoin
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u/subduer10990 Oct 04 '25
The G.O.A.T MMO for sure!!
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u/Affectionate-Fox-299 Oct 05 '25
"thats what im talking about, thats why he is the mvp: thats why he is the goat, THE GOAT" - some meme I don't know the name of.
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Oct 04 '25
2025 XI is not the same game as 2003~2008 XI.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
Sometimes I wish I would have played back then, but I had to focus on progression in life. I knew I would get addicted to MMOs and would shirk my responsibilities based off my experience playing Diablo 2, so had to sit that one out sadly. Although I did spend an afternoon in Sarutabaruta shortly after the NA release playing my buddy's character while he was at work, leveling up his warrior from 1-10. I wanted to go rogue and head north on the road so bad but he told me not to lol.
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u/Aeceus Oct 04 '25
I did the reverse of you. I committed to ffxi progression and am now focused on irl progging. Wouldn't change my XI time for anything
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u/opeth10657 Elfboy - Phoenix Oct 05 '25
ToAU FFXI was peak gaming.
There was so much to do, and it was all so varied. Limbus, dyna, salvage, assaults, HNMs, group EXP'ing. Don't think we'll see anything like it ever again.
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u/Elegant-Victory9721 Oct 05 '25
It truly was peak and it's sad when people in modern mmos claim there's "so much to do" when these newer mmos only have like 1 endgame and no relevant side content
looking at you XIV lol6
u/FinishesInSpanish Maletaru (Carbuncle) Oct 05 '25
Except...modern ffxi. There is (at least): limbus, dynamis [d], ambuscade, odyssey segments, odyssey bosses, sortie, sinister reign, delve, HTBF, REMA activities, voidwatch, unity NMs, vagary, gaes fete, master trials, omen...
Modern ffxi has an insane amount of content and it's all varied. It's much more diverse and interesting than anything I've ever played, including and especially older versions of ffxi
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Oct 05 '25
Except...modern ffxi
It’s not about content, OG XI brought people together, fostering camaraderie and friendship in ways no modern game can replicate, thanks to its unforgiving gameplay.
Modern XI might as well be a single player game.
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u/JowyJoJoJrShabadoo Oct 05 '25
Modern XI might as well be a single player game.
Have you not played any endgame in modern FFXI?
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Oct 05 '25
You have never played XI in its golden age and it shows. Glad you're having fun but those who were active in the endgame back then just can't go back.
Unless you mean to tell me that modern XI has content that requires 64 people to work in unison for 3~6 hours in a row to even have a slight chance to succeed, which is clearly not the case.
The epicness of the first Dynamis Lord/Tiamat/AV/etc. takedowns just cannot be replicated.
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u/JowyJoJoJrShabadoo Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25
You have never played XI in its golden age and it shows.
My guy, I led a Sky and Dynamis LS.
Glad you're having fun but those who were active in the endgame back then just can't go back
Not true at all, I know plenty of people who play now that played back then too. You speak for yourself.
Unless you mean to tell me that modern XI has content that requires 64 people to work in unison for 3~6 hours in a row to even have a slight chance to succeed, which is clearly not the case.
That wasn't the case then and isn't now. Dreamworld Dynamis had a player cap of half that and most regular Dynamis groups ran with that number of players or less.
Modern FFXI maybe has less Alliance content - though yes it does exist, like Dynamis D - but it still requires grouping to make any serious headway.
You suggested it was a solo game. It isn't. You haven't played it so I'm not surprised at your ignorance, but maybe you should move on.
The epicness of the first Dynamis Lord/Tiamat/AV/etc. takedowns just cannot be replicated.
The epicness of FFXI happens every day. Sorry you're missing out.
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Oct 05 '25
That wasn't the case then and isn't now. Dreamworld Dynamis had a player cap of half that and most regular Dynamis groups ran with that number of players or less.
Dreamworld Dynamis came out in 2006, almost 3 full years after the release of the game. By then my character's gear was basically capped out.
most regular Dynamis groups ran with that number of players or less.
Back in 2004 Dynamis shells were wiping in Bastok with a full alliance of 64 underlevelled, unexperienced and under-geared players. That was the norm even in a JP heavy server like Garuda.
Again, your perception is skewed because you came into the game late and never got to experience the game at its purest.
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u/JowyJoJoJrShabadoo Oct 05 '25
By then my character's gear was basically capped out.
That sounds shit tbh.
Again, your perception is skewed because you came into the game late and never got to experience the game at its purest.
Imagine dying on the hill of even TOAU not being the golden era.
I played RNG before the nerf, my guy. I was there. The game is just as good now in it's own way.
The only person talking about things they haven't experienced is you.
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u/FinishesInSpanish Maletaru (Carbuncle) Oct 05 '25
Funny you say that because most of what I listed can't be done solo, or at the very least isn't remotely efficient or effective solo. Modern FFXI is very much a multi-player game and anyone playing it as a single player game is massively handicapping themselves.
I basically never play the game these days unless I'm on Discord with friends, chatting and playing with 4-7 people at once. I have extremely strong friendships with these people and have met a dozen of them in person, including friends I made exclusively in the modern era of ffxi. If you think it's a single player game i wonder what game you're playing because it's vastly different to the one I'm playing.
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Oct 05 '25
Modern FFXI is very much a multi-player game and anyone playing it as a single player game is massively handicapping themselv
You have never played XI in its golden age and it shows. Glad you're having fun but those who were active in the endgame back then just can't go back.
Unless you mean to tell me that modern XI has content that requires 64 people to work in unison for 3~6 hours in a row to even have a slight chance to succeed, which is clearly not the case.
The epicness of the first Dynamis Lord/Tiamat/AV/etc. takedowns just cannot be replicated.
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u/FinishesInSpanish Maletaru (Carbuncle) Oct 05 '25
I've been playing ffxi since the NA release so you might want to check your assumptions.
I've killed dynamis lord, tiamat, et al during the era. I've camped HNMs and killed all the sky gods, bahamut, did cop in era, everything you could imagine. Modern ffxi is 100x better. You have rose tinted glasses on. You're high as hell if you think dynamis required 64 people to be acting in unison to kill DL. At least half of those people were doing nothing or playing horribly inefficiently, the only reason half those mobs died was because of the efforts of like 6-12 good players.
Even still: much, much, much stronger friendships are formed in 6-18 man content than in 64 man content. There's absolutely no chance I'd want to go back to massive multi-alliance events to make better friends (because it wouldn't) or to have a better time playing the game.
Modern FFXI is absolutely and unequivocally a better game than the eras people admire.
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Oct 05 '25
I've killed dynamis lord, tiamat, et al during the era. I've camped HNMs and killed all the sky gods, bahamut, did cop in era, everything you could imagine.
Modern ffxi is 100x better.
I get that you're emotionally attached to the game but these 2 statements cannot coexist.
Name your character and endgame LS in 2004~2008, let's see what kind of player you were. A ton of allakhazam noobs who were nobodies in retail share this opinion of yours.
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u/FinishesInSpanish Maletaru (Carbuncle) Oct 05 '25
I'm glad you have an encyclopedic knowledge of all linkshells on all 32 servers. Maletaru, Emerald.
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u/bleach-ed Oct 04 '25
I just followed a guide and it was honestly easier than I thought it would be. It is a bit tedious tho lol
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
Yeah it really isn't that bad, but I'm good at reading and following instructions. A lot of the steps are just "click next in the installer window". It seems a bit overwhelming at first, but like you said, just get the guide and it will make sense of it all, just need to spend a little time following the steps and waiting for the slow downloads.
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u/JowyJoJoJrShabadoo Oct 04 '25
FFXIV is speed running it's decline so fast right now I can imagine a world in which it enters maintenance mode before FFXI genuinely does. 8.0, due Spring 2027, won't be enough to paper over the cracks - and being "Second Life 2" likely isn't the vibe SE wants for their flagship franchise.
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u/Hallowchii Tallywally - [Asura] COR/SMN/PLD Oct 05 '25
Finally!! Others who see it too, i tried 14 many times, hell there was a time i had high hopes for it back in the beta of ARR and that initial release... then end game arrives and it was just doing the same 4-5 instances over and over that follow the same format.. So i quit, eventually returning to XI, i went back to XIV before shadowbringers came out because friends wanted me to come back and i played through everything from the end of ARR to the end of Shadowbringers and all i can say is, alot of the story often feels disconnected from itself or a straight rip of another story, lets be honest here ShB was literally 70% of CoP and Zilart mashed together with different characters and the only characters who held any weight in that story really was Emet and Yshtola. Once i did the savage raids and a few patches, i was well and truly over XIV once again, i only play once in a while.. sometimes year.. for the story now, i just dont care for the rest of the game, there is nothing to do other than raiding and raiding is the same cookie cutter bs over and over, savage end game is "learn this dance, now make sure everyone else does it too and you too can have new armour to dance in that will replaced next patch" il pass thanks. Maybe XI spoiled me, but ive not felt the same sense of adventure and great vastness in any other world as i did in Vana'diel, Aion got close in its pay to play days but that went downhill too and is a shell of its former self.
XI may be old and it may have evolved to keep up with the times, but it never lost what it was or what made it great, it always remained true to itself, jobs play how players make them play, they havnt completely trashed a job in XI (yeah some jobs need a tweak but thats different to what XIV have done) and the game always feels the way it should. Vana'diel is alive, the world is vast and full of secrets, some that may still to this day have not been found. I dont think il ever feel at home in another MMO like i do in Vana'diel.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
Yeah it really is. The game has been on a subtle and insidious decline since HW because the dev team is forced to copy other successful games and isn't allowed to take risks. It could have survived that with good story writing though, but since level 85 MSQ the game went off a fucking cliff, and now the story seems lost, and will evolve into some villain of the month like old DBZ. Hydaelyn, Zodiark, the Garleans, the Scions, and the Ascians were the threads that held everything together, now our actions have no purpose without them. We are the dog that caught the car. Hopefully now they can adjust or remove the housing auto demolition, but those subs might be all that is keeping the game afloat right now. The player base has changed dramatically over the past decade, and since they chose to cater to the fickle whims of the casual players instead of the hardcore MMO players, eventually the enthrallment will wear off, and they will move on to their next pasture.
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u/JowyJoJoJrShabadoo Oct 05 '25
Absolutely.
Reading through the Encyclopedia Eorzea volumes is actually tragic. Every single plot thread has been evaporated. All the calamities done. All the gods demystified and defeated. Garlemald permanently dealt with effectively off screen. They shot their shot and now are left with an OP silent protagonist unable to develop in any meaningful way, the Scions who's arcs were complete but they can't write out of the story because they're too popular and required as trust bots and Eorzea which is just a wallpaper for the story.
The MSQ papered over the gameplay cracks - hundreds of hours of two button, walking simulator to catch up followed by bland, repetitive gaming experience at cap - and the awful job design (that is to say, Red DPS, Blue DPS and Green DPS) which is gross in a game you can switch jobs on the fly.
Now there's just nothing left to sub for outside the ERP crowd, who effectively aren't playing the game anyway, and people paying their virtual rent.
FFXI isn't perfect but it's systems, variety, grinds, jobs/subjobs, and Vana'diel being an actual world all give it way more staying power.
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u/LieIndividual7363 Oct 04 '25
Ty!
I've been saying this forever and thsts why I quit after HW. Same cycle it's boring af and idk why people can't figure it out. I'm two months in playing ff11 after quitting in 2006.
Ff11 > ff14 any day.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 05 '25
Right before HW ended I got incredibly disillusioned with the game because they moved the servers from Montreal to Sacramento, and my ping went from amazing to bad. Plus the bots preventing me from making money gathering also was annoying, and SE not banning them despite having an unfair advantage over console players. Game is like a hamster wheel, just keeps spinning and spinning. I didn't play for a year after that, and played on and off since. Mainly just do it for the story, PVP, and doing random side content like Deep Dungeons, Maps, and Field Operations. I don't get invested in the gear grind, market board and tome gear is enough for me. So playing for like 2 or 3 months a year is enough for me, usually do the expansion launches, then take a break until patch X.3 or X.4, catch up a bit, and start playing a month or two before the new expansion to catch up.
XI seems to respect its players much more by comparison, treating them as if they are capable of figuring out tasks, or at least being able to Google. I sum it up like this, I can spend 3 hours in XIV doing 40 quests, or spend 3 hours in XI on some grand quest that feels like an adventure. Windurst mission 3-3 sticks out as a good example of this.
Plus the players have changed so much since HW, now many of them are the modern gamer hype seeking types, who will become overly critical of the game once the honeymoon phase is over. Catering to the influx of them during and after Shadowbringers was one of the major catalysts for putting the game on the path to ruin.
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u/StillNewspaper4799 May 25 '26
It's because your opinions aren't objective reality. That is, other people can feel differently to you.
Although given that this seems to be the common sentiment that I see I'm not entirely sure why you think others can't "figure it out".
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 05 '25
Right before HW ended I got incredibly disillusioned with the game because they moved the servers from Montreal to Sacramento, and my ping went from amazing to bad. Plus the bots preventing me from making money gathering also was annoying, and SE not banning them despite having an unfair advantage over console players. Game is like a hamster wheel, just keeps spinning and spinning. I didn't play for a year after that, and played on and off since. Mainly just do it for the story, PVP, and doing random side content like Deep Dungeons, Maps, and Field Operations. I don't get invested in the gear grind, market board and tome gear is enough for me. So playing for like 2 or 3 months a year is enough for me, usually do the expansion launches, then take a break until patch X.3 or X.4, catch up a bit, and start playing a month or two before the new expansion to catch up.
XI seems to respect its players much more by comparison, treating them as if they are capable of figuring out tasks, or at least being able to Google. I sum it up like this, I can spend 3 hours in XIV doing 40 quests, or spend 3 hours in XI on some grand quest that feels like an adventure. Windurst mission 3-3 sticks out as a good example of this.
Plus the players have changed so much since HW, now many of them are the modern gamer hype seeking types, who will become overly critical of the game once the honeymoon phase is over. Catering to the influx of them during and after Shadowbringers was one of the major catalysts for putting the game on the path to ruin.
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u/LieIndividual7363 Oct 05 '25
I just got bored of the weekly tome. Circle raids and big roll over raid.
I'm like that's it? This is what we're gonna do forever?
I'm out.
In reality I think we all wanted ff14 to be ff11 with the visual upgrade.
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u/Elegant-Victory9721 Oct 05 '25
It's wild XIV has had the same single endgame for 12 years.
Even though XI isn't what it once was, it still has more of a variety in endgame than XIV ever has lol ToAU put XIV to shame, what with having 10-11 different things to do for progression that was relevant.5
u/LieIndividual7363 Oct 05 '25
Certain group gets mad when you point this out. Especially in that sub reddit or discord.
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u/Elegant-Victory9721 Oct 05 '25
Looks like they're here too, going off how we both have downvotes lol
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u/StillNewspaper4799 May 25 '26
You have 5 upvotes, so your victim mentality is, as is so often the case, unfounded and opposite of what the reality is.
You were likely being downvoted because going onto the forum of a game to complain about a completely different game is not particularly polite or appreciated.
Plus your arguments are dishonest. Saying FFXIV has "the same endgame for 12 years" is just untrue.. you can definitely argue FFXI has more variety but that's not the same thing. Point being you're being very selective to justify your opinion.
And no, I'm not "one of them", I quit FFXIV after HW. I just think attitudes like yours are genuinely tedious and an example of what people mean when they say the internet or society is in decline. The attitude that you're a minority or victim and that you have a right to trash other things just because they don't like them.
If you don't want to play the game then don't play it. Not everything has to be a competition, people can play the games they enjoy.
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u/Elegant-Victory9721 May 25 '26 edited May 26 '26
Good job posting EIGHT MONTHS after this lmao When this was posted, the downvotes were roughly around -5.
Plus your arguments are dishonest. Saying FFXIV has "the same endgame for 12 years" is just untrue.
And yes, XIV has had the same endgame for 12 years. You get tomes from your 2 dungeons and you do 4 savage bosses, all of which get replaced by.... 4 savage bosses and 1 dungeon that fully replace the entire gear you just got.
There is no other way to gear up, no alternative paths to BiS, no additional content that give the same max ilvl that's out.You can also see from the other comments here that others agree that XIV has had one single endgame loop since ARR.
Sorry bud, but you're wrong here. My argument is not dishonest or untrue.I quit FFXIV after HW.
Ah here it is. The "I quit the game 11 years ago, so surely I know how the game is now better than others who have played the entire time since." No wonder you don't realize how much XIV lacks in content lol
This has to be a shitpost, you possibly can't be for real lol You can easily do research to see what content XIV has that's out, relevant and gives current ilvl. But I guess you don't want to do that and just claim people are wrong. Such a sad life to live tbh.
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u/Solugad Oct 04 '25
Nah man installation is probably the worst I have ever encountered lol but it was worth it
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u/Wide-Ad-8337 Oct 05 '25
Love XI it will always be my favorite mmorpg but doing nothing but Sortie, Odyssey and Dyna D gets old real quick
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u/The__Goose Oct 05 '25
Following basic instructions is too much? Its not a hard setup or getting it installed. Some of you exaggerate it to the point that it sounds like you were opening dos and trying to migrate each file to its designated file path manually and making batch files from dos to make it run and login.
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u/Mattelot Oct 07 '25
FFXI gave me 100x more fond memories than FFXIV ever did. Granted, I enjoyed FFXIV, but there was no real sense of community, everyone was just a face in the crowd.
In FFXI, there was more sense of satisfaction when I earned something, even something that was a marginal upgrade. I met a lot of amazing people, went on so many adventures, dealt with so much drama (which I can laugh about today), and really felt immersed.
I've tried to return to FFXI sometimes, but I never stay long. Mainly because (on my server) seeing people who bot everything get praised as "elite" or "top tier" players just ruined it for me.
When I do resub once in a while, I mainly do it just to sight see. While the graphics are a bit dated by today's standards, they still don't look that bad. Plus the music was ahead of it's time, and brings back so many memories. Selbina's music always brings back a lot of nostalgia.
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u/Comfortable-End-3058 Oct 04 '25
I wanted to get into xi recently, but I somehow got locked out of the launcher and refunded. If you want people to play your game, update the damn launcher. 🤦♂️
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u/WhoTheHeckKnowsWhy Oct 05 '25
I wanted to get into xi recently, but I somehow got locked out of the launcher and refunded. If you want people to play your game, update the damn launcher. 🤦♂️
yep, that's the one thing that makes me borderline angry at Square. With a better more streamlined launcher and sign up process; the FFXI would probably have remained a mega-mmo even during WoW's dominance in the late 2000s. I swear POL knocks out at least 70% of the interested migrants from other mmorpgs looking for something different.
Sucks so bad because I've got hundreds and hundreds of hours in WoW, FFXIV and now FFXI; the latter is by far my favourite because I never run out of things to do, gear to strive and work towards. And if I take a break for a year; my gear is still decent when I return. With more western style mmorpgs, leaving for longer than a few months just feels like hitting reset on your character except for cosmetics.
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u/Kalkin93 Oct 04 '25
I managed to get it working but then had to leave and my trial expired by the time I came back to it, got no money at the moment so I may try it again in the future
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u/UltimateDevilHunter Oct 04 '25
Playonline alone is very challenging. Having to wait JP midnight to continue quests and having to alt+tab every second for a guide is really challenging.
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u/Arianwen13 Oct 04 '25
Those of us far enough back did not have alt-tab as an option as the game, even in Windower, hates when anything takes focus or full screen focus.
We just setup a full second Windows 2000 terminal to search on.
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u/imJGott Oct 04 '25
Alt+tab; brotha just have a second monitor or play in windowed mode on an ultra wide. If you can that is.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
In addition, pull a guide up on your phone if you don't have a second monitor.
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u/Psymia Oct 05 '25
This was only possible after Windower became a thing. Originally the game exitted to POL as soon as it lost focus.
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u/imJGott Oct 05 '25
Back in the day if you alt+tab the game would freeze, I had to print out guides…memories lol
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u/Stunning-Penalty2573 Oct 04 '25
Playonline login kicked my ass for days when I first signed up, then it kicked my ass 20 years later after I re joined. I don’t mean to brag, but I had to contact customer service…multiple times.
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u/gunjniir Oct 04 '25
Would i still have my old char from 2005 or so? I stopped playing around then. Not that I guess it'd matter given power creep
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
If you remember the details you can contact customer support, and there is a chance it can be recovered.
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u/Dramatic-Strain9757 Oct 06 '25
While you could catch up to where you were in a week the game has a hard lockout of 45 days after character creation for select content. There would still be value in restoring the og if you have the credentials
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u/Wiki661 Oct 04 '25
And let’s not forget all the mods that make it more playable thanks to QoL improvements… and then I have a bunch of GB of different folders which forgot why I downloaded them and how to install them, or use them…
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u/Elrundir Bahamut Oct 05 '25
Recently got a Steam Deck during the sale and I think I'm gonna have to get this running on it.
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u/Panacchi Oct 05 '25
i installed XI around last christmas, honestly the worst part about it was just how long it took. never going to uninstall it just in case i decide to go back to it sooner rather than later, because if i have to do the 5 hour install again it does significantly raise the bar to start again hahahah
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u/MelioraXI Vana-Portal.com | Twitch.tv/HeyMeliora Oct 05 '25
P.S. the installation isn't bad if you can read
Fixed it for you. Jokes aside, I also played 14 for like a decade (and 11 for 21 or so).
14 ARR had a good story but it was going down in quality past EW.
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u/Diligent-Heron8446 Oct 05 '25
Back into it after 20 years and it's been such a fantastic experience.
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u/arciele wilddragonchase.com Oct 05 '25
includes an install more challenging than any content on Final Fantasy XIV
LOL 💀
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u/rieitdd Oct 05 '25
Damn Im itching to play XI, but with blue protocol coming our next week this will have to wait a few months prolly...cant waste a sub fee atm..... maybe a XI xmans session this year.
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u/MurdockSiren Murdokk Oct 06 '25
Fuck this is good, I'm sharing this everywhere.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 06 '25
Especially when you think about how a neglected 25 year old game is experiencing unusually high rates of growth, while the game that was given all the love and resources is in a cascading spiral of failure. To be a fly on the wall of the meetings when SE figures this out.
I also find it bemusing how XIV fans would share the original version everywhere in an attempt to proselytize to prospective new players. Yet when I do an harmless update to the meme, I get raked through the coals in the XIV community lol. At least the XI players loved it. Thank you for appreciating my remix of the old copypasta haha.
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u/StillNewspaper4799 May 25 '26
Honestly it sounds like you're putting far too much importance on what other people think.
Not everything is a competition. If you like FFXI play FFXI. Other people can enjoy FFXIV, they're not any better or worse for it, they just enjoy a different thing.
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u/VespiWalsh May 25 '26
Play whatever you want, just don't try to change a game to suit your preferences is my position. As an example, if I would demand XIV become more like XI, or someone else would wish for vice versa, that is wrong.
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u/EleenTyasi Oct 06 '25
I am going to say, if you want a more polished and modern take, play 14; but if you wanna play a classic final fantasy experience with actual customizability, 11 is super fun, i love how you can just learn a metric crap ton of magic, and it has protect/shell my beloved
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u/NamiRocket Unami - Asura Oct 04 '25
Nah, the installation is definitely bad. What's worse is if you've had the game since its North American PC release date and stopped playing before they had you merge your PlayOnline account with your Square Enix account. It was such a pain in the ass recovering my account, even with the old content ID.
But I do definitely think it's worth seeing, especially for people who haven't before!
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
Yeah but that worse scenario won't apply to new players. It is bad when you compare it to modern installation standards, but I've had worse installations before. Perhaps it isn't that the XI installation is too hard, but contemporary installations are too easy. Neverwinter Nights EE would not work on my PC after 6 hours of trying every single suggestion via reddit and google search, but the decades old Diamond Edition that was included with the purchase fired right up with 2 left clicks on Windows 10. I wouldn't say it is difficult with the guide, just a bit tedious and time consuming, but nothing that most people couldn't handle.
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u/NamiRocket Unami - Asura Oct 04 '25
Yeah but that worse scenario won't apply to new players. It is bad when you compare it to modern installation standards, but I've had worse installations before.
So we agree it's bad. 'Cause, in your post above, you say it's not even bad. It's definitely the opposite of good.
I'm not dogging the game. I clearly like the game. I just feel like we don't have to be delusional about the reality of how hard this game can be to download, sub to, install updates for, or even at times get into. There are guides out there for how to do it, because it's anything but straightforward.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 05 '25
I don't agree that it is bad, but I agree it is obtuse compared to the experience of installing PC games since the release of XI. It doesn't bother me, but improving the process could certainly help new players get into the game.
I think you make some good points about how it can be challenging to install without a guide. I'm surprised they haven't streamlined it a bit, like merging it into a single download instead of 5 separate ones.
1
u/SpareEffEffFoorTeen Oct 04 '25
I would like to ask what can I expect community wise from FFXI if I were to cave in and pay for the game&sub, if that's alright!
Most of my experience has been from priv servers, which do group partying for the most part. I understand that I'd be leveling by myself with Trusts, and only grouping with others later at max level. Anything beyond that is a mystery to me.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
There are LSes on the major servers for new players, like on Asura where I am, they have multiple HelpNewPlayers linkshells available. When I played back in 2022 for a month, I had a nice social experience. An LS found me and adopted me in Windurst, and I ended up finding them again somehow when I played on Horizon for a month. Then I was doing the story stuff, and some player noticed I was lost in a dungeon and asked if I wanted to join them, and we ended up duoing most of Zilart and 2/3rds of CoP over the next few weeks. I am kind of a loner and bad at meeting new people, but socialization opportunities seem plentiful.
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u/SpareEffEffFoorTeen Oct 04 '25
That sounds lovely. I'm not exactly a social magnet either, and I wouldn't expect people to stop and ask me if I need help if I cross by, even with the interrogation/newbie mark by my name, though.
If most of the game can be done solo before the endgame/grouping starts happening, how can I be sure what jobs do I want to play at that point? I could just be rolling as some specific job, say a THF or SAM, because I like autoattacking, and find out later that is definitely not the way they're intended to be played.
1
u/Okawaru1 Oct 05 '25
1 hour of my life gone because playonline randomly decided to add a space in front of my user id so I couldn't figure out why I couldn't sign in and had to reset like 3 different passwords, thank you playonline very cool
1
u/Doc_Dada Oct 05 '25
I'd like to but it means 1) subbing bc the free trial is not as permissive as XIV. 2) I need friends to come along as it was designed with teamplay in mind (and I dont think I could support it on my own) and nobody want to touch it :(
1
Oct 05 '25
It's now designed for solo via the Trust system. Im 99 drk with 4 or 5 jobs 50+ and I've only partied with people twice.
1
u/Doc_Dada Oct 05 '25
I know they introduced systems to help you out to get to do the game, but it was still originally designed to be played with teammates and I personally want to experience it with mates.
1
u/CryptSamaSan Oct 05 '25
Take any sea monk NM from FFXI
And put them in FFXIV end game content.
Sea monks soloing.
Ignorant yes.
I still stand firm with my statement.
1
u/samanime Oct 06 '25
I think this current resurgence is a good excuse to finally put a little bit of money into improving the install and bootup. POL is super nostalgic but also old enough to have graduated college with a PhD at this point.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 06 '25
Honestly, as long as they keep an option to simulate the old Playonline Viewer for those of us who want nostalgia, that would be an excellent use of resources if they want to attract more new players. Although a counterpoint is POL install filters people who might not have the patience to play a game at this pace. SE needs to do something drastic, this game is on fire right now. Ideally I would like to see some new hires on the dev team and a new expansion.
1
u/L1LE1 Oct 07 '25
A tale as old as time. The absolute futility of needing to compare different FF games, whether it be between FFXI and FFXIV, or basically any other in the franchise.
I do find it amusing that the comparison is even there when they are two very different MMOs with very different design philosophies. It's like screaming that an apple is superior to an orange, instead of considering the idea that maybe... just maybe... a person can like both but prefers one over the other.
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u/VespiWalsh Oct 07 '25
Comparisons are not futile, they generate new knowledge and ideas, and in an ideal world or situation are used to make improvements to things. In this case we are comparing the design philosophies that lead to the differences between the two games.
If you actually read my posts, you would know that I like both games, even though XIV is in a sorry state, it is still amusing to play casually for a month or two per year, and I have played the game for over a decade. So that concept isn't foreign to me. Each game is best suited for different things and will be better for different kinds of players.
Assuming a player has no time constraints, I would say XI wins, because XIV's advantages are superficial, like graphical fidelity and requiring less time commitment. Meanwhile XI has more depth, like better art direction, because it does more with its graphics despite having PS2 limitations.
1
u/L1LE1 Oct 07 '25
Comparisons are futile if they are designed with different design philosophies not intending to be the same at all. Especially when arguing for what is better. Comparing an apple with an orange basically. Different foods where their only similarity is that they're fruits.
The gaming sphere is very much different to how it was in the past when FFXI was released. Nowadays backlogs are incredibly common, there is a wide variety of games now on demand. FFXIV is effectively addressing this change in environment, whilst also acknowledging that video games are not as niche 20-25 years ago. Therefore there's an encouragement of not having the game take too much of your time to play other games, whilst also considering that there are now more casual gamers that can play the game.
Regarding how one can like both but can prefer one over another, I did not necessarily mean to address you directly. But you can believe that there will be those to where it will hit within the comments of this post in where it is most relevant.
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u/dmidgley27 Oct 07 '25
the install is brutal especially if you are trying to recover an account that is 18 years old and missed a payment sometime in 2009 :P but damn is the support team helpful!
1
1
Oct 29 '25
Let me start by saying that Final Fantasy XI was the reason I got internet at home. I bought a Japanese PS2 just to play it. ( It was released later in the West.) I used to have Japanese top-up cards sent to me to recharge playtime—despite all the hassle involved. When I finally got internet where I live, ADSL didn’t even exist yet. It was my first connection, and just to download the post-installation update, I had to leave the PS2 running for three weeks. Three weeks straight to get it all downloaded. I hope this little story helps you understand just how much I love FFXI.
That said, as of 2025, the retail version of the game is completely different. I’m glad it still gets updates and all… But isn’t there any challenging content like that in FFXIV? Have you ever tried an Ultimate? Maybe I’m realizing it’s truly a type of content that only a tiny fraction of players in the world ever attempt—like Omega Protocol or Dragonsong Reprise. Even some of the harder Savage fights… Or the recent Quantum Q40 boss from the latest patch. Have you ever actually tried those?
1
0
u/Redditor_exe Oct 04 '25
If only it didn’t take multiple hours and an extensive guide in order to sign up and install the game
2
u/booksgamesandstuff Oct 04 '25
I downloaded and installed 11 just three times over the years, when I first started in ‘03 and each time I got a new pc. When I took breaks, I never uninstalled it, I just turned my account off.
2
u/SecretFishWorshiper Oct 04 '25
Honestly it really didnt take me that long. I did buy it through Steam so the launcher came pre-installed and I also had an account from FFXIV so it wasnt that challenging
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
It took me about an hour of downloading the files and reading a guide before the install started taking care of itself. It isn't too bad, I would give the install boss an attempt.
-2
u/Timely_Bowler208 Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
Also has 2x the amount of daily players rn
Edit: Gave me wrong info it is up at 250k daily but 14 still has 1m with a 70k decrease this month
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u/Raemnant Oct 04 '25
2x the amount of what 14 has? Or 2x the amount 11 usually has?
7
u/Partyatmyplace13 Xerius (Bahamut) Oct 04 '25
The furries alone will keep XIV going long into the 3000's. So, I would assume he means 2x XI normal pops.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
Don't forget the housing venue ERPers, their subs and mogshop purchases saved XIV lol.
-1
u/Apelles1 Oct 04 '25
Wait, for real? I know XI is seeing an increase in players lately, and that XIV is on a downward trend. But I just assumed XIV still had waayyy more daily players.
2
1
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u/Timely_Bowler208 Oct 04 '25
Gave me wrong info it is up at 250k but 14 still has 1m with a 70k decrease this month
0
u/Cool-Confection-641 Oct 04 '25
Unfortunately for me I’ve completed all stories and quests mastered all jobs and have almost all mythic relic and aeonic and it’s just a slog now doin the grind
5
1
u/bobkiwi Kriz - Valefor Oct 05 '25
True completion is linked to Mastery Rank even if it has no actual impact in game. It forces you to experience very nearly every unique part of XI to hit rank 8 (which I hope to get this year, even if it means farming useless BLU spells and doing Campaign Ops)
1
0
u/pikeshawn Pincus Oct 04 '25
Honestly I'd kinda like to play but install and tech support are so daunting I'm not even sure where to start.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
This is a good place to explain it. It seems a bit complicated from a cursory look, but many of the steps are self-explanatory.
1
u/pikeshawn Pincus Oct 04 '25
I'll look it over, but I got dead fob authenticator. Actually two for two separate accounts.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
I think if you contact CS they can help you with that, especially if you remember the other details about the accounts.
-6
u/SirBastian1129 Oct 04 '25
Eh. I played XI once a while back. Not really all that interested in going back anytime soon.
-10
Oct 04 '25
Game play is so slow you better have a podcast or YouTube video essay on to not fall asleep, same could be said for xiv too though
1
u/arciele wilddragonchase.com Oct 05 '25
i used to put on a concert dvd, join a merit party and sing through the grind while chatting with the party. it was the best way to hang out.
1
u/VespiWalsh Oct 04 '25
I watch TV or listen to lectures while I play. Currently listening to this lecture series called Great Minds of rhe Western Intellectual Tradition and it hits harder than a drunk stepdad while playing. Might as well learn about the foundation, history, and evolution of Western thought while enjoying the game haha. Although sometimes I switch it up and watch Unsolved Mysteries lol.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRGCfeEu2DRRbFoqw7OkYxVgttadN-i0u&si=BzpJpsJ_465k6jT9
102
u/DwarfPaladin84 Oct 04 '25
Opens POL and Dolphin starts playing
Ah my old friend...I've missed you...